Donald Beaton
Donald Beaton was a notable figure in the early history of East Point, Souris, and the Eastern Kings area. Beaton was born in 1816 in East PointTownshend, Adele. Ten Farms Become A Town. ''Town of Souris. 1986. Print.. He was a fish merchant and was also a member of the House of Assembly of Prince Edward Island. He was described as "a quiet, unassuming man"Campbell, Basil. Personal Web Page. PEI News Items 1854. Web. 20 December 2017.. Ancestors The following note is made regarding Beaton's grandfather, and it is recorded here, as follows, by means of historical interest: "Beaton's grandfather of the same name came to the Island in 1774 from Scotland. He was with the militia in Charlottetown in 1776 when the American privateers carried off acting Governor Phillips Callbeck. In 1799 he purchased or was granted a large tract of land at East Point". Beaton's Life Although he was born in East Point, Beaton spent the early years of his career in Charlottetown where he established himself as a businessman. However Beaton was still listed as an ensign of the militia of East Point in 1939. It was in 1840 that Beaton moved his business to Souris, where he soon became involved in the fishery and shipbuilding. He had a store in Souris, at the site of the present day Car Wash (AM Auto Parts), and he owned two fishing establishments, as noted in the 1861 census. These were located, as Townshend tells us, "in the little gully near his store where he had a small wharf block", and in Chepstow, "where for a time he kept a store down on the shore of the present Mrs. Anselm MacDonald's farm", (which for the reader of 2017 is indicated by the government road named Anselm MacDonald Road, which leads south from East Point Road to the water. Beaton's shipbuilding operation was primarily small scale craft, and was mainly limited to "building vessels mainly for his own coastal trade and smaller boats for sale or lease to his fishermen". Of his seaward endeavours, Townshend provides excerpts of a letter, written to Captain Michael LaVie and addressed to McNears Cove, Straits of Canso (Cape Breton), January 8 1864, details the struggles of two of his vessels caught in the ice in Nova Scotia ports. Townshend writes that "The ''Robinson, on her return trip, was loaded with provisions including porter and ale. The other, under Captain Deagle still held her outgoing cargo of hake and mackerel. Beaton was sick and upset with worry. It is interesting to note that in this,and in a later letter of Feb. 5, the Port of Souris is free of ice. He writes: "I don't understand how it is that the straits are full of ice over there and not a fistful here not even after we had the last southerly blow". His brigantine the Jane left Souris in November of 1865 on a fishing trip to Newfoundland. She, too, became frozen in ice there for six months but returned in the spring to a joyful welcome". In 1851 Beaton sent notice requesting all of his accounts to be paid, as it was his intention to leave Souris. This plan, however, never came to fruition; his reason for changing his mind is unknown, but shortly after this announcement he began constructing the Beaton House. On 3 March 1854 he married Maria Clementine Sobieski, eldest daughter of the late Hon. John Small MacDonald, and that year they moved into their new home together. Politics Beaton was a Roman Catholic and a Liberal, and was elected to the Provincial Assembly of Prince Edward Island under Premier George Coles in 1850, winning his seat in the district of 1st Kings. He was defeated in 1854 by Conservative John MacGowan, of Gowan Brae. In 1859, John Knight, Conservative, was elected to serve under Edward Palmer but lost out in the next election to Donald Beaton. Death Beaton died on 14 November 1865, at the age of 45, of diabetes. He was a wealthy man at the time of his death, and he owned a considerable amount of land, including much of the centre block of Main Street. It was said that "his loss, as a merchant, will be felt by many". CHECK SOURCES HERE. IS ANY OF THIS BEING CONFLATED WITH ALEXANDER BEATON OF EAST POINT? WERE THEY RELATED? References https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/18th_General_Assembly_of_Prince_Edward_Island Letter sent to Beaton: ☀http://www.islandregister.com/letters/beaton1.html